Tempe to vote on making interim city manager’s position permanent

The Tempe City Council is expected Thursday to make interim City Manager Andrew Ching's appointment permanent.

The agenda item was added Tuesday in advance of the council’s formal meeting Thursday.

Ching was appointed to the position amid a controversial 5-2 council vote in January to fire former City Manager Charlie Meyer.

The starting salary for Ching is $175,000, according to a Tempe memo accompanying the agenda and recommending that the council approve the employment contract. Ching's annual salary when he served as city attorney prior to the temporary appointment was $153,157.

Meyer, who served as Tempe manager for five years and worked as a city manager for decades before that, was earning $188,989.

The council approved Meyer's $158,329 severance package, per his employment contract.

Ching’s employment contract calls for a City Manager salary range of $155,633 to $210,105.

Prior to Ching’s interim appointment he served as Tempe’s City Attorney since 2006.

If appointed, the move would contradict a councilman’s statement in February that the council selected Ching because they wanted someone who would understand that the council had no intention of making the temporary position permanent.

Mayor Mark Mitchell and council members said Ching’s temporary appointment would allow Tempe time for a national search to hire a qualified city manager to lead the Valley city.

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